


Emrys and the Dragons

by Llama1412



Category: Arthurian Mythology, Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Storytelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23365633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Llama1412/pseuds/Llama1412
Summary: When Emrys's village gets taken over by a dictator named Vortigen, he doesn't expect to find anyone to put his faith into. But then, life is full of surprises.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Emrys and the Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> This is a different take on the Arthurian Legends and is actually meant as a story to be told aloud.
> 
> Originally posted to livejournal in January 2011. Posted unedited.

There once lived, in the wild rugged mountains of North Wales, a lonely, fatherless boy called Emrys. He was small, with sharp eyes like a hawk's and a mouth that rarely smiled, for he was oft troubled by dreams and visions he did not understand.  
  
Because he was without a father, he made friends with a wise old man who lived in the mountains. He was one of those men who seemed to know everything, from writing and reading, to the language of birds and how they flew. He liked young Emrys and taught him everything he knew.  
  
However, the teachings of an old man could not tell him why the village boys were so cruel. They could not tell him why he did not seem to have a father or why, as he was brooding by the lonely banks of a river, he saw things no other mortal has ever been able to see.  
  
What he saw puzzled him. The river was the first time he saw it, two dragons, a white and a red one, fighting each other mercilessly until, finally, the red dragon overpowered the white one and sunk heavy fangs into its neck. However, after that first vision, the dragons continued to plague him.  
  
One day, a ruthless king named Vortigen entered the village and took it over, making use of its resources to prepare his army for war. On one particular hill, Vortigen chose to construct a fortress that would be able to withstand any attack. However, even as he worked the villagers to the bone, each evening, no matter how solidly the tower had been constructed, a terrible shaking brought it down.  
  
After the third evening this event occurred, Vortigen turned to his faithful magicians, demanding that they bring him an explanation. And so, the magicians drew a large circle upon the level ground, cast about their magical stones, and called upon the gods to answer their questions.  
  
In the center of the circle, a beautiful woman appeared in a flash of light, her long dark hair cascading down her back, her garb that of the most expensive fabrics in existence. When she spoke, her voice rang within each of them, as if they were hearing it not with their ears, but with their very minds. "I am Mab, Queen of the Old Ways," she said, "the land on which you seek to build is cursed. There is but one way to be rid of the curse, and that is to spill the blood of a man fathered by a demon over the soil." With those words, a curl of purple smoke willowed around her and when it cleared, she was gone.  
  
'Find me the man fathered by a demon!" Vortigen ordered.  
  
"But sire," his knights protested, "we don't even know where such a man could exist. Surely he is not to be found anywhere near here!"  
  
"Then you will have to search the land, and search quickly!" Vortigen spoke, his tone unforgiving. He offered a prize to whoever could bring him the man and it was at this point that a villager approached him, speaking timidly.  
  
"Sire," the villager voice shook, "we have such a man in our very village, though he is but a boy. Emrys is his name. He has no human father and he uses powers no mortal should have. Surely it must be so that his father was a demon." And the villagers truly believed this, for Emrys, just months ago, had correctly predicted the disappearance of the sun. In this day, we of course know that a solar eclipse is a phenomenon caused by no man but simply an event in the grand scheme of the universe. However, Emrys, armed with astrological information gathered from an old man's books, impressed the villagers with his predictions and terrified them with his truthfulness.  
  
And so it was that Vortigen ordered Emrys to be brought before him. The boy protested weakly. "I haven't done anything to you, sire. Why must you consign me to death?"  
  
"It is nothing personal," Vortigen dismissed airily, hardly sparing him a glance. "Your blood can cure my problems. For that, you must die." And he called his knights forward to do the job.  
  
"Wait, please!" Emrys shouted, "rather than kill me, I think you might benefit by hearing my dreams!"  
  
Vortigen held up a hand, halting his knights, for he was curious to hear what this impudent child had to say. But he did not like what he heard.  
  
Emrys told him of a vision where a white dragon and a red dragon fought ferociously. The battle went on for many days and many nights, with much blood spilt by both, until finally, through a chance movement, the red dragon bested the white dragon, snapping its neck with powerful jaws.  
  
And while no one before had been able to decipher Emrys's dreams – and even he had simply used them as a distraction in hopes that Vortigen would lower his guard and he could escape – Vortigen was able to see a side to these dreams that no one else could. For he knew that he own crest, the white dragon, resembled that of his sworn enemy. And his men had told him that Uther Pendragon and his army that marched under the flag of a red dragon were but a few days' march away.  
  
Hearing the prediction that his side would fail a battle, Vortigen roared in fury, frightening villager and knight alike. He swung out blindly with his sword, hoping that perhaps spilling the boy's blood really would rid him of his problems. But it was not to be.  
  
With a fortunate leap and dodge, Emrys ducked under the king's blade and ran, ran into the forest where the trees had always provided him sanctuary from his thoughts. Now, though, the king and his men pursued him, furious yells and vicious swings that easily cleaved branch from tree followed just behind Emrys. And he could do nothing but run.  
  
In a panic, he quickly glanced behind him to see how close the knights were gaining on him and thereby missed both the root protruding from the ground just in his path and the armored man rounding the tree with a look of surprise.  
  
In a yell and a tangle of limbs, Emrys found himself trapped, staring down at a man with dark eyes and a cloak of Pendragon red. Pushing the boy off of him, the armored man gracefully leapt to his feet – a real feat considering the weight of his armor and chainmail – and faced the oncoming knights. Amazingly, with the strength of a single blade, the armored man parried the King and stabbed viciously, taking every opening he could get. Finally, with a move that could only have been aided by luck, the armored man swung and his blade neatly cleaved the Ruthless King's head from his neck.  
  
The remaining knights dropped their swords and backed away in fear, uncertain of what to do when their commander had died. The armored man stepped forward, pulling off his helmet in a swift movement and revealing his shockingly blonde hair to the sunrays' kiss. He spoke, his tone not one of harsh authority as Vortigen's had been, but one of soft understanding that a man in battle gained about those he faced. "I am Arthur, heir to the Pendragon line. My father and his knights ride in this direction with the intent to claim the throne and bring peace to these lands."  
  
In a show of surprising compassion, he extended his left arm toward the knights, palm facing upwards in an unthreatening manner. "Your king is dead, slain by my hand. If you would accept our leadership, we would accept your allegiance. There is no need for more blood to be spilt." And he stood there, one arm extended, the other hanging at his side, hand loosely grasping his sword.  
  
The knights were moved by this declaration, surprised. As warriors, they had never been taught to value the lives of men. Certainly, they had never expected a prince to show awareness that their lives were worth anything. Vortigen had definitely never treated them as anything but pawns, pledged to fight and die on his command.  
  
It was because of this that they, in a unanimous decision, bowed before their new prince and swore their solemn oaths of allegiance, for they would gladly follow a man that would treat them as equals.  
  
And Emrys, still lying on the ground not seven paces away, stared at the young prince and found himself admiring the man. Royalty were well known, in his village, for being ruthless and condescending. However, Arthur appeared neither of these things and he was glad for it.  
  
And when the knights led Arthur back to the village, back to the hill where the shambled remains of their attempt to build a tower lay, Emrys stepped forward and bowed before his prince.  
  
"My lord," he spoke softly, with a tone that was not yet reverent like the knights', but respectful nonetheless, "it had been prophesized that the tower cannot be built without the soil being drenched with the blood of one whose father is a demon." He drew himself to full height, looking his prince in the eye. "It is believed that my blood is that spoken of in the prophesy and I would willingly spill it for you if you can promise to rule this land with a just hand, giving the people the peace they so crave."  
  
Arthur stared at him, seemingly uncomprehendingly, before he clarified, "you would die for a person you hardly know on the word of a promise that could easily be broken?"  
  
"I would, my lord. I can see that you shall rule with honor and integrity and I know that you would keep your word. That hill is the most tactical place for a tower to be constructed and if spilling my blood with allow that, then I would do so gladly."  
  
Arthur shook his head. "I do not spill the blood of the innocent." He said simply. "And I do not believe that your father be a demon, either. If the tower cannot be constructed, then so the fates will it. There are other places and besides which, a fortress here would only place this village in unnecessary danger. I do not wish to see any more people hurt when there is no need for it."  
  
And as he spoke, the villagers all gathered and they could see, through his words, the vision of a young king who would rule them in peace and keep them safe. And they knew that it wouldn't take years, or even months, for this vision to come to pass.  
  
And so it was and so it shall be. The Once and Future King brought peace to the land and ruled with a kindness and compassion that hasn't been matched since.


End file.
